Air blower lubrication



July 12, 1949. 1 R. HAPPE ETAL 2,476,041

AIR BLOWER LUBRICATION Filed March 15, 1946 s sheets-sheet 1 July 12, 1949. R. HAPPE ETAL AIR BLOWER LUBRICATION s sheets-sn'ei 2 M m @MT WAP n .M 7 we .fw n W M m R. HAPPE ErAL AIR BLOWER LUBRIGATION- July 12, 1949.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Mrch 15, 1946 :Jnwmfvfmw REY/vow QPPE AND EDGAR P R/vm Wam Patented July 12, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AIR BLOWER LUBRICATION tion of New Jersey Application March 15, 1946, Serial No. 654,660

7 Claims. (Cl. 23.0-207) l This invention relates to ai-r blowers, and more panticularly to air blowers of the motor driven vane type which are light in weight and are adapted to be transportable by hand.

The present invention has for an object to provide an air blo-wer which may ibe readily applied, as a unit, upon a standard type electric motor housing.

Another object of the invention is toprovide an air blower of extremely simple design such that it will be most inexpensive to manufacture and which will require a. minimum of attention during the operation thereof.

A further object of the invenrtion is to provide an air blower with fully automatic lubrication means therefor which are so designed that an operator mayvdetefrmine at a glance whether the unit is being lubricated properly.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, the invention comprises the devices, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of ya preferred embodiment of the invention, from which the several feartures of the invention and the advantages attained thereby7 will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

The invention, both in structure and in operation, as well as additional objects thereof, will be best understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: i

Fig. 1 represents a side elevation, partly in section, o-f an electric motor and air blower unit embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 represents a right face view of the unit shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 represents a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 represents a sectional view taken along line 4 4 of Fig. l.

Fig. 5 represents a. sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 represents a sectional view taken substantially along line 6--6 of Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the invention is shown as applied to an electric motor unit comprising a cylindrical sheet metal casing I0 in which is mounted, by means of screws II, a main motor frame I2. Formed integrally with the motor frame I2 are a plurality of spaced radial cooling fins I3 which engage the inner Wall of the casing I0. Provided in two of these fins are threaded holes Il which are adapted to receive the screws II.

Disposed within :the motor frame I2 are the usual stator windings I5 and a rotor shaft' I6 which is journaled within ball bearings I1 and I8. These bail bearings I1 and |8`are carried respectively in end bells I9 and 20 each of which is secured upon one end of the motor frame I 2 in the usual fashion.

Mounted u-pon the distal end of the rotor shaft IG is a fan 2| which is adapted to turn with the shaft I6, thereby to draw air through an' aperture 22, provided in an end wall of the casing I0, and

to force this air over the motor frame I2 to discharge the same out through the opposite and open end of rthe casing. Such an air blast is effective to keep the motor at a low temperature.

In order to prevent foreign matter from entering vthe casing along with the air blast, there is provided behindlthe opening 22 a wire screen 23.

Secured to the bottom portion of the casing I0 is a base portion 24 provided with four (only two of which are disclosed) rubber feet 25. This base. in the present form of construction, contains a motor capacitor 26.

To facilirtate the handling of the present unit, there is provided on the top portion of the casing I0, a handle 21 which is secured thereon by means of screws 28 and nuts 23.

Formed in the outer face of the motor end bell I 9 is a cylindrical recess 30 into which is seated a rotor or blower casing 3| which is provided with a plurality of spaced radial cooling ilns 32. Formed eccenrtrically within the casing 3| is a cylindrical rotor chamber 33 lined with a hardened wear sleeve 34. rotor chamber 33, through an aperture 35 in the casing 3|, is a reduced end l'portion 36 of the rotor shaft I6 upon which is mounted an auxiliary rotor or blower element 3l. A key 31' locks the auxiliary rotor on the shaft 36. This rotor 3l is lprovided with radially disposed slots 38 in which are slidingly mounted varies 39 which are adapted to engage the sleeve 3l in response to rotation of the rotor 31.

Disposed over one end of the rotor casing 3| is an open faced lubricant-containing casing 40 provided, as is the rotor casing 3|, with radial cooling ns 4I. Formed within the casing 40 is a cylindrical opening 42 over which is secured a transparent.v window 43. Window 43 is secured to the face of the casing 40 by meansI of four screws 44 which pass through a sealing-ring 45, the casing 40, Aand casing 3| to ybe threaded into the face of the end bell I9. thereby to secure the entire pump or blower unit to the motor.

An oiltight gasket 46 is clamped between the Projecting into this 1 to draw air from the window 43 and the open face of the-casing Il for the purpose of.forming with the back wall 41 of the casing a lubricant-containing chamber.

"I'he dotted line Il in Figs and 3 indicates the usual lubricant level position within the casing 4l.

Referring particularly 4to Figs. 2, 3 and 6, the

back face of the casing wall 41 is provided with a pair of arcuately shaped grooves and 55 and a pair of apertures 5I and l2, which apertures, in 1 conjunction with the corresponding grooves, function as intake and exhaust ports respectively. Projecting forwardly from the casing wall 41 is a boss 53 through which the intake aperture or Aport 5| extends. Referring to Fig. 6, the boss 53 has a reduced lend portion 5l extending through the window 48, thereby to permit the rotor 51 outside atmosphere through port5i.- f

As the direction of rotation of rotor 31 vis counterclockwise, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 4, the

`rotor will draw air through port 5I and into the rotor chamber and then expel the air under positive pressure out of the rotor chamber through the exhaust port 52 and into thel lubricant-containingchambern. From the chamber 42, the

`air escapes 'through a tube Il mounted within a coupling 56 which is threaded into an aperture 51 provided within thetop portion of the casing 40. A flexible hosell may be connected to the `tube 55 for the purpose uf wading the an, stream `to any desired location, g

In order to lubricate'properly the rotor vanes 39, there is provided alubricanthconducting tube 59 which contains a bore or conduit 65 and is threaded into the side of the bossl 5I.. The conduit 60 opens at one end inthe port 5| and is provided throughout its length with a wick 52 which extends vdownwardly-into the lubricant. Referring particularly to Figs. 2 and 6, it is to be understood that the action of the air rushing l `towards the rotor 31, through the port 5I, tends `to draw the lubricant oi! the end of the wick 52 *and thereafter draws the same over the vanes.

It is to be understood that, essentially, the-two opposed casings 2 I and Il, when stacked together, form a single-enclosed hollowcasing with a wall member I1 disposed therein, thereby to form a pair of horizontally'opposedrotor and lubrication-containing chambers respectively. As such. the entire unit may be readily applied to an electric motor of the usual type.

contained withinthe casing 42 vis distributed to 4the blower or rotor vanes only when the rotor is rotating, and when the rotor is at rest the lubril` cant has no way in which it can seep into either The lubricant will, of course, work its way up the wick lby capillary action. y

The air passing through the rotor chamber will carry a portion of the lubricant out through the l exhaust port 52. In order to remove the lubricant from the air vbefore it passes out of the chamber l2, the port 52 is disposed at right'angles to the Window 43, thereby to direct the lubricant-laden .stream directly against the window. By thus forcing the stream to impinge against the window,

the lubricant is caused to separate out of the `air stream and will drop to the bottom of the chamber 42 and the lubricant-free air will then flow out of the chamber through the tube or dis- `charge nozzle 55.

Provided in the back wall of the rotor casing 3| and concentrically with the shaft aperture 35.

Iis a circular recess or lubricant-collecting chamlber 63 which has disposed therein a lubrlcant.

absorbing pad 54 for the purpose of arresting the flow of lubricant along the reduced section 36 of the shaft I5. The lubricant is thereby prevented `from entering into the motor housing. Also pro- `videdin this back wall of the casing 3| is a groove 65 which connects the recess with an aperture `or conduit 55 formed in the casing 5| in' line with the intake port 5|'. The pumping action of the `rotor 31 will, therefore, tend to draw airthrough the aperture 55 to the end that all excess lubricant` feollected by the pad 64 will be drawn of! and will `be deposited back in the lreservoir formed in the casing Il.

the rotor casing or into themotor housing. Furthermore, the operator by a mere glance through the transparent window 43. may determine whether the rotor is' being supplied with the requisite amount of lubricant. Fresh lubri cant may be supplied to the reservoir through the medium of the exhaust nozzle or tube 55.

Having thus set forth the nature of the inven-` tion, what we claim herein is:

1. An air blower comprising, a hollow openfaced lubricant-containing casing, said casing l being cylindrical in shape and having a substan- I tially ilatback wall portion, an air inlet port provided in said wall, anair discharge port provided in the top portion or said casing,'a transparent window disposed over the open `face of said casing in parallelrelation with the back wall portion thereof, a blower mounted on said back wall, said back wall forming part of a housing for said blower, means including a wick to conduct lubricant from said lubricant-containing` casing ltosaid blower, and conduit means to direct lubricant-laden air under pressure from said blower through said back wall into said casing so that it will impinge directly against said window thereby to cause said lubricant to drop to the 'bottom of said casing.

2." An air blower comprising, a hollow openfaced lubricant-containing casing, said casing having a substantially at and vertically disposed back wall portion, an air discharge port provided in the top portion of said casing, a transparent' against said lwindow thereby to. cause said lubricant to drop to the bottom of said casing.

3. An air blower `unit comprising, a substan- 1 tially enclosed hollow casing, a common wall member disposed within said casing thereby to form a pair. of `opposed rotor and lubricant-containing chambersrespe'ctively, a rotor disposed within said rotor chamber, said wall member being formed lwith-apairof apertures therein disposed adjacent the exhaust and suction sides of said rotor respectively. conduit means connecting that suction-side aperture -to the outsideof said casing,

va lubricant-delivering means connecting said 1 bricant vcontaining chamber with said cond t means,l and an air discharge nozzle leading from said lubricant-containing chamber to the outside of said casing.

4. An air blower unit comprising.A a substantially hollow open-faced casing, a common wall member disposed within said casing thereby to It is also to be understood that the 1ub'ricant form therewith a substantially enclosed rotor chamber, a rotor disposed within said chamber, said wall member being formed with an air outlet port therein adjacent the exhaust side of said rotor, a transparent inspection plate disposed over the open face of said casing in spaced and substantially parallel relation with said wall member thereby to form therewith, and in conjunction with said casing, a lubricant-containing chamber, conduit means connecting the suction side of said rotor with the outside of said casing, means for delivering lubricant from said lubricant-containing chamber to said conduit means, and an air discharge nozzle leading from said lubricantcontaining chamber to the outside of said casing.

5. An air blower unit comprising, a substantially hollow open-faced casing, a common wall member disposed within said casing thereby to form therewith a substantially enclosed rotor chamber, a rotor disposed within said chamber, said wall member being formed with a pair of apertures therein disposed adjacent the exhaust and suction sides of said rotor respectively, a transparent inspection plate disposed over the open face of said casing in spaced and substantially parallel relation with said wall member thereby to form therewith, and in commotion with said casing, a lubricant-containing chamber, conduit means connecting that suction-side aperture to the outside of said casing, a lubricant-delivery means connecting said lubricant-containing chamber with said conduit means, said rotor being operative to deliver lubricant-laden air under pressure through that exhaust-side aperture to impinge against said transparent plate thereby to cause the lubricant to drop to the bottom of said lubricant-containing chamber, and an air discharge nozzle leading from said lubricant-containing chamber to the outside of said casing.

6. An air blower unit comprising, a casing having a transverse wall defining a substantially enclosed rotor chamber, a rotor disposed within said rotor chamber, said casing having an open-faced cavity formed therein adjacent said rotor chamber, a transparent inspection plate horizontally disposed over the open face of said cavity thereby forming therewith a lubricant-containing chamber, conduit means connecting the suction side of said rotor with the atmosphere, a lubricant-delivery means connecting said lubricant-containing chamber with said conduit means, aperture means in said wall to direct lubricant-laden air under pressure from the exhaust side of said rotor into said lubricant-containing chamber so that it will impinge against said transparent plate thereby to cause the lubricant to drop to the bottom of said lubricant-containing chamber, and an air discharge nozzle leading from the upper portion of said lubricant-containing chamber to the outside of said casing.

7. A rotary compressor comprising, a rotor casing dei'lned bya pair of spaced parallel first and second wall portions, a shaft extending into said casing through said rst wall portion, a rotor mounted on said shaft within said casing. said first wall portion having a recess therein surrounding said shaft for the collection of excess lubricant, conduit means connecting said recess with the low pressure area of the interior of the casing, said second wall portion having an outlet port and an inlet port therein, an open-faced lubricant-containing casing disposed over said outlet port, a transparent window disposed over the open face of said lubricant-containing casing and at right angles to said outlet port, means to supply lubricant from said lubricant-containing casing to said rotor, and an exhaust nozzle provided in said lubricant-containing casing at a point remote from said outlet port.

REYNOLD HAPPE. EDGAR P. TURNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,626,768 Vollmann May 3, 192'? 1,776,921 Moessinger Sept. 30, 1930 1,928,300 Peltier Sept. 26, 1933 2,272,926 Squiller Feb. 10, 1942 2,413,035 De Lancey Dec. 24, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 446,610 Great Britain Mar. 24, 1936 

